The Last Year
by a mountain of gideon's scones
Summary: Amelie was human...once. find out how her life came to an end in such a sudden and horrifying way. Find out why she hates her father so much & what happened to the child... Please R&R! COMPLETELY ORIGINAL!


**Rated 'M' simply for the small rape scene - nothing explicit, simply the event.**

**Please read!**

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Amelie's POV:

The last year of my human life was a mishmash of emotions.

France, 886AD.

I was the golden princess. The heir to the throne (no matter how much my father wanted a son, my mother only bore me... Perhaps this was to do with the reason he killed her) of France and I was loved. The people adored my blonde hair and perfect looks whilst the royals found my wit and intelligence to be a breath of fresh air in the stuffiness that had surrounded them for hundreds of years.

Even my father seemed to be a little better - no longer did he constantly belittle me or insinuate I was something that ought to be thrown out. No, he didn't seem happy that I was around but it was certainly a step up from the past. He didn't turn his nose up when I walked in the room or refuse to speak to me: no, now he paraded me around to everyone, as if he'd only just found the benefits of having myself as a daughter. Still, I didn't see him often... He seemed to keep to the dark seclusion of his office much more than before until it came that the only time I saw him was when we ate, after dark fell.

I also had a possible love interest. Xavier Devineau was lovely, kind hearted and everything a girl could want in a man. He was well off and well connected, making him a suitable match for the heir to the throne - he was perfect. Yet my father kept pressing me to marry him... Something I didn't want to yet do. I wanted to make sure that he was definitely the one I wanted ruling the country beside me - divorce didn't exist in those days... Marriages were for the long run.

_Flashback:_

"Amelie, why on earth will you not marry someone who is perfect for the position?" my father yelled at me as I sat in his office.

"I want to make sure that he is the one for me," I said with a small sniff, making him laugh.

"Amelie, you realise at 20 years of age you are hardly deemed the freshest daisy in the field?" he snapped at me. "I could have married you off many years ago and forced you to be with someone you don't love. Look how benevolent I have been to you... Now take this chance to marry the man who you apparently love before I betrothe you to someone without taking your thoughts into consideration," he continued. My blood boiled at this and it was as if he knew... As if he knew how much anger and hatred for him circulated my body at that time.

_End of flashback._

I headed to the small dining room where I had arranged to meet Xavier for dinner. Well, my father had arranged it and I was doing his bidding, as usual. It wasn't as if I hated spending time with Xavier - far from it! I really was warm to him and enjoyed his company. Just when someone else forces you to do something, it isn't as fun.

"Milady," Xavier said with a smile as he raised my hand to his lips. I smiled, involuntarily, before taking my seat at the table opposite him.

The food was delicious - steaming duck accompanied with seasonal vegetables and gravy. I had to say, the cook was absolutely superb!

"Apologies for interrupting," Thybeaud, one of my father's assistants, interruped. Did my father want me? I made to move but he shook his head and inclined it towards Xavier. "Monsieur Bishop would like to see Monsieur Devineau - Madamoiselle Amelie, please continue with your dinner."

I won't say the move didn't confuse me - far from it! I spent all the while wondering why my father wished to speak to Xavier - I had no idea what they would talk about.

_Bishop's POV:_

Ahhh, my daughter Amelie. Yes, she was a girl of sharp wit, intelligence and complete compassion. If you saw her even a decade after this fateful year, you would have only seen the first two... If you lived long enough to make it there.

She also refused to marry. I won't pretend and say I wasn't relieved at that - I didn't particularly want her to form an emotional bond. It would have only made it harder for me to set my plans into action for the future. I was already a vampire, plotting quietly to overtake Europe. France was firmly in my grasp as was England, given we controlled the majority of it then, yet I had plans to overtake the other countries. Every single one of those plans included my daughter. I suppose, deep down, I loved her slightly - I was her only parent since I killed her mother so I had to feel something for her. Yet I knew she despised me so it only made everything so much worse.

Ahhh yes, but back to the plan. I didn't want her to be married yet I needed a child to be born to continue on the Bishop line - so in the future I can call upon one of my future generations to assist in the fighting. Yet she cannot marry... It would be much harder to hide her away if she had someone to be with. That meant that there was only one option left.

A knock came at my door then, almost startling me.

"Entrer," I called (english=enter) through and Xavier stepped through the door.

"You wished to see me, milord?" he asked me politely - ahh yes, I'm the ruler of France. I'd forgotten that about myself recently - all this plotting has made me forget my position!

"Yes," I said in a dreamy voice, waiting for him to look me in the eyes so I could compell him. "Look at me," I continued in the same tone and he obediently stared into my eyes. Perfect... I reached into them with my mind and began to compell him so strongly he couldn't dream of resisting. "You are going to return to my daughter and ply her with drink. She is going to be so drunk you have to carry her to bed and you will take advantage of this situation... You will spend the night as if you were married - understand?" I informed him, smiling slightly as my plan came into full action. She _would _drink because of the way I had the cook prepare her food - slightly too salty.

He simply nodded before I let him out of the trance.

"Why am I here, milord?" he asked, confused - I reached into his mind and knew that he hadn't forgotten his instructions.

"I simply require you to flip a coin," I said, handing him a coin.

"Why, milord?" he pressed - young people were so insolent back then... Yet, nothing compared to nowadays.

"I need to decide whether to attack Spain or Germany first and you can tell me which one," I smiled. "Spain is heads, Germany tails."

He duly flipped the coin and it landed heads.

"Spain - perfect!" I said, jotting this down. "Portugal and Italy can soon follow, then I can spread up to Germany. Xavier, you have been of great assistance to me - you may leave," I dismissed him. He had no idea of the assistance he had brought... None whatsoever!

_Amelie's POV:_

Xavier returned from my father's office with a slightly bemused expression on his face. I poured us both a refill of red wine whilst he smiled and raised his glass.

"What did my father want with you?" I asked him, unable to hide my interest in the subject.

"Simply to flip a coin," he said - ahhh, he wanted to have someone to decide where he wishes to attack next. It meant that he could put the blame on someone else if it went wrong but not congratulate them if it works. "More to drink?" he asked as I drained the last of the wine I currently had.

"Thank you," I said as he poured more wine into the cup. I raised it to my lips and drank more deeply - there was almost an unquenchable thirst in my body... I needed to drink more.

"Would you like some more?" he asked me and I nodded, inclining the glass towards him as he poured for me. I nodded my thanks and began to drink deeply before finally being able to hold down my thirst. I was desperate for another drink but knew if I did I would end up drunk and acting inapproproately. I continued to eat the food in front of me but after another few mouthfuls had to drink again - was there something wrong with the food? Was it salty or something?

"Is your food salty or dry?" I asked Xavier given we had food perpared by the same people.

"No, in fact it's rather delicious," Xavier replied with a small smile.

"Maybe I'm just thirsty," I agreed as I drained the rest of my glass of wine - it was truly delicious and did quench my thirst, if only for a moment.

OoOo

"Maybe I shouldn't have finished the jug," I simpered as I swayed. I was drunk and could barely stand up, let alone walk anywhere.

"I shouldn't have let you," Xavier said remorsefully as he rushed around to support me as I nearly fell.

"No, I liked it," I murmured as I clutched the front of his shirt - he felt so nice and lovely.

"Come here," Xavier said to me and then he lifted me into his arms. I was too drunk to pretend to protest and simply settled down into his arms as he carried me to my wing. I had an entire wing of the house to myself with no servants for my own privacy - it was what I had wanted and Father, to my surprise, agreed instantly.

"Would you like to stay for a drink?" I asked him as he set me down in my room. The doors had shut behind him meaning that the only light came from the candles on the far side of the room and the ones by my bed.

"I would like that very much," he responded, bending his head to kiss my hand. I giggled as I sloshed wine into two beakers and handed one to him. He took it with a smile and drank most of it before setting it down.

"I think I like you a lot," I laughed wildly, drunkenness fuelling my speech. He laughed before removing my drink from my hand and being the most forward I had ever known a suitor to be. He kissed me gently on the lips before making it more passionate, grabbing me by the waist and forcing my mouth open.

I won't pretend I didn't enjoy it. Far from it - I had the most fun I had ever had, even though I was drunk. Until it went too far.

He forced me onto my bed and began to undress me, ignoring my feeble protests. I couldn't muster any strength up to stop him and my drunkenness only _wanted _him to do what he did. Then my strength began to come through and I tried to fight him off, yet he was too strong for me.

"HELP ME!" I screamed over and over again, desperate for a servant to hear me as he forced himself onto me. I cried and screamed until he left the room, grinning evilly with what he had done to me. A monster!

I fell asleep and awoke with a splintering headache, thinking I had dreamt up the entire situation. Rather, I hoped that what had happened was a dream and pretended that it was, even to myself. The only conscious thing I did to recognise the possibilty that the rape was an actual event was to never set eyes on Xavier again.

_Xavier_

_I can no longer see you. I don't think that we are right for one another and I do not wish to spend my life with you. I am sorry._

_Amelie_

I sent this letter with one of my servants a day or so after the dream/incident. Father seemed happy with me, which was strange given how much he had pressed me to marry him. Quaint... Yet I will not pretend I wasn't happy that he agreed with me. This occurred so rarely, even at 20 I was happy to have my Father pleased with my actions.

_One month later:_

"Miss, are you alright?" my assistant, Clarisse, asked me as I threw up for the third time in an hour.

"Yes thank you," I smiled even whilst throwing up. "It's simply the fish we ate last night... Where did cook get it from?"

"Just the local brooke, miss," Clarisse said with a worried look. "Let me fetch Monsieur Perkins, miss, I think it cannot do any harm to check."

"Fine, fetch him," I sighed - she was a nice girl but always so pushy! "But when his trip is wasted, I will be blaming you."

She agreed to these terms so within half an hour, I had the physician giving me a checking over. You cannot imagine my surprise when he actually found something.

"My dear, you are with child," he said - what? I couldn't be... I wasn't married and had never **ever **been with anyone that intimately. Unless...

OoOo

"Father, you have to help me!" I begged my father as I entered his office. I walked forwards to his desk and fell to my knees, entirely distraught. He was away for three days, leaving me with two before he returned to plan what I was going to say. Unfortunately, I spent the majority of that time hyperventilating or crying so it wasn't extraordinarily beneficial.

"Amelie, what on earth have you done to warrant such a reaction in you?" he inquired in his dry tone.

"I'm expecting a child," I murmured and he looked up, shocked. I began to cry even harder, my unkempt hair hiding my face from him.

"Amelie, what do you mean?" he asked, moving closer to me and appearing concerned.

"About a month ago... Oh, I thought I had dreamt it!" I wailed and he moved my hair from my face. I was scared for a moment he would slap me until he didn't move again. "The last night I saw Xavier, he plied me with too much drink. He took me back to my room and...and he forced himself onto me. When I awoke the next morning, I thought i had simply dreamt it but stayed away from him anyway. Oh, Father, please forgive me!" I wailed and this time he surprised me. Instead of hitting me, which I was sure his intention was, he simply wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug and soothed me with little noises. It was the closest we had been since I was a small child and he comforted me as I had nightmares - strange, but I almost liked it.

"I shall watch him burn!" he growled and I shivered with fear... At least his rage wasn't directed at me, I told myself. "My Amelie, I am so sorry for allowing this to happen. Let me fix this," he said and I looked into his face. All I could see was concern, which was the shock for me - more than my being with child.

_Bishop's POV:_

Finally, I had her where I wanted her. A vulnerable position, which is what I wanted, and carrying the next in the Bishop family line. Everything was set in place for her to become a vampire but continue the matre'd family line - I couldn't have been happier.

Yet I couldn't have shown her this. I had to pretend to be all concerned for her, to have her interests at heart. So that my actions could be deemed fatherly rather than be construed in their actual purpose - controlling.

"How, father?" she asked me, morose. "How can you fix such an ungodly sin that has been committed?"

"I have a friend in England, very close, Mr Barlow," I suggested, knowing that she knew the daughter. It would be the perfect place to send her - and Mr Barlow already knew of her impending arrival. I could hear the beating of her unborn child's heartbeat since the day after conception and knew then that my plan couldn't be foiled. "He will take you until the child is born, you know his daughter Bernette. You can be with a friend and then return to France when the child has been birthed... If you like, you could insinuate it is a distant, orphaned, cousin so that you can spend time with it. After all, it is half you."

She looked at me in amazement.

"Thank you Father," she said, grasping me tighter. This was what I had wanted from her, to think she could trust me. How wrong she was!

_Amelie's POV:_

_One week later:_

The seasickness was only intensified given the water was choppy and the morning sickness was hitting at that very time. Still, one day after I left Paris, I arrived in Cornwall, where I was to stay. Apparently the Barlows were looking forward to housing me and I knew that this could be the golden chance for me to practise my english in action - sure, I had spent seventeen years learning it, but that isn't the same as truly speaking it!

"Amelie, you're here!" Bernette squealed as I stepped out of the coach. She rushed over and hugged me before feeling my stomach. "It's such a shame that Xavier didn't get to meet his unborn child before he..." she began, trailing off at the end.

Father and I had decided that it would be best to pretend I had married Xavier and he had been killed in war only a week or so ago. This meant I had came to England to get away from his memory and to have his child in a beautiful surrounding.

"Yes..." I began. "I was so sad when he passed and when Father suggested staying with you, I couldn't resist - it has been too long!" I continued, truly feeling happy to see my old friend.

I was housed in a grand room, across the hall from Bernette's room. We spent most waking moments together as whenever I was alone I remembered the truly horrific night. It was no longer simply a dream: it was a disgusting reality and the reminder followed me everywhere, being the child.

Yet I soon grew to love the child growing inside of my small body. The kicking of it made me smile as my stomach soon protruded further out than I ever thought possible. I spent seven months horse riding (my own horse, Lynda, was truly missed, yet Rosie - the horse I was given to ride for the first few months - was a perfectly adequate stand in), walking through the fields and having fun. I attended several balls with Bernette and realised the french opinion of grandeur is much higher than that of the english. Still, I would never have complained - Father had seen to me getting away and I would be eternally grateful.

As well as walking and riding, I spent time reading. The Barlows had a huge library containing books I had never seen, so I was often content to take three and sit out in the beautifully soft sunshine the summer months brought to England.

9 months after the fateful night and I felt twinges in my stomach. For a few hours I simply thought that it was the, _my_, baby kicking until fluid came out.

"Argh!" I screamed as a contraction happened, slowly and painfully - I wanted to die with agony! Bernette soon arrived with the doctor and nurse, who helped me get into bed properly equipped and assisted with the breathing. No matter how many different techniques of pain relief, including birthing stones and three types of breathing (thankfully blood letting was not used), I still wanted to die everytime a contraction rolled around. The gap between them soon became shorter and shorter until I was told, twenty nine hours after labour began, that my baby was only one push away. I put every ounce of effort in and was soon rewarded with a beautiful baby girl. She had fine blonde hair and big green eyes - truly beautiful! Her face was like an angels, delicate and innocent with no hint of pain anywhere - a fresh canvas for a picture to be painted onto.

"Ariana," I decided to call her, after my wonderful friend who died as a child. She looked so similar to her, with the eyes and angelic face - it would have been horrible to not recognise the reincarnation of my friend.

I stayed in bed the rest of the day, staring into my daughter's face when Father walked in. I looked up and smiled at him, happy to see him.

"Father, this is Ariana," I introduced him and he genuinely seemed happy to see her.

"Hello, Ariana," he said, rubbing his finger against her face softly. "May I?" he inquired, indicating he wished to pick her up. I nodded and he did so, holding her for a moment before turning to his servant. "Amelie, I don't feel any regret in doing this... It's for your own good," he said before handing my daughter to Ben.

"NO!" I yelled, trying to get up and reach my baby but he was back in a flash and holding me down. "You liar, you did this! I hate you!" I screamed whilst he simply stood there. Whilst my daughter was taken away from me.

"You really shouldn't have said that," he finally said, once the door had been shut. "I was going to do this the more civilised way, but you don't deserve it."

He then bit me, chomping down on my neck with fangs that suddenly appeared. I tried to yell but he held my mouth shut whilst draining my blood from my body. I tried to pull away but he held me tight, refusing to let me go. I knew I was dying yet couldn't do anything beside will the process to speed up.

Then his hand was removed from my mouth and his fangs from my neck - he was a vampire! That explained why he didn't go out in the day and had just drank my blood. Even though I had no restraint on my mouth, I couldn't muster up the strength to scream. I couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, my mouth was wrenched open and Father's wrist, streaming with his blood, was stuck over it. I tried to not swallow the metallic blood, it's smell making me sick, but I was suffocating and had to! I wanted to be sick when I did but he simply smiled as I did so, moving his healed wrist.

"Amelie, you will be the ruler, the queen, you have always wanted to be," he said to me genty as I squirmed away from him.

He stole my daughter. I would never see her again. He has now turned me into a monster like him. I will NEVER forgive him!

I could feel the changes occurring inside of me, the bloodlust rushing around my body and everything else. The pain was torture as my skin hardened, my brain became more specialised and my throat burned like crazy. Thirst.

Soon, the agonising pain was over and I knew I was one of them. And my daughter was no longer around - I could smell her scent on my clothing but she wasn't in the house. He had stolen her.

That was the day I truly despised my father. A mixed emotional year coming to a head with the loss of my only child.

Now I could never have another.

_Present day:_

_Amelie blocked out all memory of this child because the pain was too much to bare. She never spoke of Ariana again. Nobody, not even Myrnin, knew of her existance... The only one who remembered was Bishop!_

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**What do you think of this one-shot? It's taken a while to write!**

**It's a side story to 'Struggles between what's right and what I want'**

**Please review!**

**Vicky xx**


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